Book Review: Witch of the Black Circle by Maria DeVivo

Witch of the Black Circle
by Maria DeVivo
Published: March 7th 2022 by 4 Horsemen Publications
Received via Booksprout

When it comes to witchcraft, it's never just a teenage phase...
For as long as she can remember, high school senior Joephie Turner's mother has told her she is cursed by a witch. As she settles into her new hometown of Northport, Long Island at the height of the 1980s Satanic Panic era, Joephie is accepted into a circle of friends obsessed with the occult. Demonic messages on cassette tapes, shady youth group leaders, and passionate sexual encounters push the teen into a thrilling world that lends a deeper meaning to the proverbial mantra: "sex, drugs, and rock and roll." Until it all goes wrong.
A decade later, haunted by nightmares of cults and rituals, formidable burgeoning witch Joephie pieces her memories together in search of answers about the small group of suburban teens that meddled with dark forces. As an adult, Joephie will have to decide what, or who, she is willing to sacrifice from her past in order to claw her way back to sanity.
Inspired by true events, Witch of the Black Circle is a deliciously wicked and nostalgic journey through time where the lines of reality and the supernatural blur. Content warning: satanic rituals; sex; graphic violence; language; drug use.

Book Review: I was intrigued and confused by this book. It takes place in the 80’s during the height of the satanic panic. Joephie is the new girl in town and soon makes friends with kids like her. Into sex drugs, rock n’ roll and witchcraft. At first you think these are just kids and it’s a passing phase. Yet as the book progresses I wasn’t sure if things were happening in Joephie head or reality.  

There was also this weird change of POV around the middle of the book that threw me and I didn’t realize it was her mom till much later. Unfortunately I found the characters lacking in depth. The plot was eh. I kept reading out of shear confusion wanting to understand what the heck was going on. Even after finishing the book don’t feel like I got closure from it.